Acquaintance reports of personality and academic achievement: A case for conscientiousness

The present article examines personality as a predictor of college achievement beyond the traditional predictors of high school grades and SAT scores. In an undergraduate sample (N = 131), self and informant-rated conscientiousness using the Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991) robustly correlated with academic achievement as indexed by both freshman GPA and senior GPA. A model including traditional predictors and informant ratings of conscientiousness accounted for 18% of the variance in freshman GPA and 37% of the variance in senior GPA; conscientiousness alone explained unique variance in senior GPA beyond the traditional predictors, even when freshman GPA was included in the model. Conscientiousness is a valid and unique predictor of college performance, and informant ratings may be useful in its assessment for this purpose.